Mark Your Calendar!

Our next membership meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6th at 5:30 PM. We meet in the ground floor conference room of the Acordia-Wells Fargo Building at the corner of Madrona Avenue and Industrial Drive. If you can find the South Salem Fred Meyer store, you’re almost there! Just head east on Madrona Avenue, next to Freddies, and follow the road until you come to the cross street, Industrial Drive. Turn right. There is a driveway between the Acordia Building and Gold’s Gym that leads into a large inner parking lot. We’ll have a sign on the Acordia back door welcoming you! This meeting is especially important because our new board would like YOUR feedback on the goals they are setting for this year. Keeping a small, busy, volunteer-driven, non-profit organization like SWRA moving forward is a pretty big job. We are always on the look out for new volunteers and fundraising ideas. Speaking of volunteering: you don’t have to tailor your schedule to OUR volunteer job. We’ll tailor our volunteer job to YOUR schedule! By joining us on April 6th, or future meetings, May 4th, June 1, July 6th, (we meet the first Wednesday of each month), you’ll discover for yourself just who we are and what challenges we face in caring for wildlife in our communities. SWRA is the ONLY organization in Marion-Polk Counties rescuing, treating, and releasing native wildlife. That’s a pretty daunting task, but we are determined to accomplish it. So be a wildlife advocate and attend one of our membership meetings. We’ll be waiting for you!

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Did you know? The name, raccoon, comes from the Native American word, arakum, which translates into “he scratches with his hands.”

SWRA Receives Grant

Like all non-profit, community service organizations, SWRA is faced with the month-to-month challenge of fundraising. Raising money for medical, nutritional, and in-care supplies for critters like this Flying Squirrel (rehabilitated and released by Mammal Rehabilitator Susie Hardin) would be infinitely easier if we had a paid staff person to handle grant applications, donor appeal letters, and membership recruitment. But we have only ourselves to rely on, and sometimes we’re so busy taking care of animals, working our regular jobs, and being with our families that volunteer fundraising tasks get shoved into the “I’ll work on it next week” category. Last fall, Wildlife Rehabilitator Mary Bliss made time to apply for a grant from the Karen Schroth Foundation. We are thrilled to report that we have been granted $10,000! The grant will be used to purchase medicines and medical supplies. SWRA extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Karen Schroth Foundation. Kudos to SWRA volunteers Brian Bliss, Trina Brown, Darcy Toronto, Jan Petree, Jan Williamson, and Tari Edmonds for helping Mary with the application process. Teamwork is indeed what it’s all about!

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PETCO Donates to SWRA

Buy your pet supplies at PETCO between now and April 17, and a portion of your money will be donated to us! In 2004, PETCO stores raised $1.5 million in donations to animal welfare organizations. In return for PETCO’s generosity, SWRA volunteers will host a booth at the store once weekly through April 17th. We’ll visit with customers and answer questions about wildlife. If you shop at the store, come by and say hello! We appreciate Sherri Antieau-Fox for signing us up!

We Love OurPatrons!

“Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.”
–––Authur Schopenhauer

A fragrant spring bouquet to the following new and renewing members, faithful donors, and new volunteers: Mark Banick, Lori and Alex Beamer, Aaron Beaty and his company, Cleanline Concrete, David Burkhart, Jim Croft, Eric Eck, Lori & Randy Fisher, Davis Garrison, Will High, Susan Lee, Theresa Martin, Maggie Meikle, Jerry & Donna Moss, Joan Nelson, Jay Seymour, Karen & Jim Snipes, Bill Steen, Jamie Udy, and Jan Williamson.

Last September, we held a rummage sale in the parking lot of Bethany Baptist Church in south Salem. The church has generously offered to host another sale next September. That may be a long way off, but Sale Coordinator Trina Brown asks that you start setting aside items for the sale right now! All items must be clean and in good working order. If you would like something picked up today, tomorrow, or just before the sale, please call Trina at 503-371-0966.

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Membership Matters

Congratulations to our new board of directors: President Cyndi Leech, Vice-President Mary Sterling, Incumbent Secretary Trina Brown, Treasurer Jay Seymour, and Member at Large, Tari Edmonds.

We have raised our membership fees, but we think you’ll still find them a bargain! Here are the new rates: individual: $15, family: $20, corporate: $50; and rehabilitator apprenticeship: $35. If you haven’t yet renewed your yearly membership, please do so soon! All membership revenue goes toward the rescue, treatment, and release of native wildlife.

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Our MEMBERSHIP MEETING is held on the first Thursday of each month, 5:30 PM, in the first floor conference room of the Acordia/Wells Fargo Bldg. at the corner of Madrona Avenue and Industrial Drive. Drive to the back of the building, and WE’LL be there to greet YOU!

Spring Wishlist

When you go shopping, think of us! Spring brings hundreds of orphaned or injured juvenile birds and mammals into our care. SWRA Volunteer Trina Brown, photographed here at our annual Christmas party, is a DJ and a wife and mother, but she still finds time each week to pick up supplies being donated to us. If you’d like to donate any of the following items, please give her a call at 503-371-0966. We need: Science Diet kitten food, Science Diet puppy food, Science Diet canned cat food, frozen berries, frozen vegetables, Gerber Liquidlytes, fruit-flavored Tums, unflavored gelatin, Beechnut chicken baby food, Beechnut corn baby food, Cheerios, canned sardines, canned mackerel, mineral grit, baby and adult goose food, COB (wet & dry), trout pellets, pigeon & dove bird seed, non-medicated chick start, alfalfa pellets, pumpkin seeds, suet, Exact for birds, Brewer’s yeast powder, colostrum powder, ZooMed Heat Emitters, 60 watt & 100 watt, fresh fruits and vegetables, Triple antibiotics, extra large underpads, dishwasher soap, laundry soap, and VetWrap.

We are also looking for a television set with a built-in VCR. This would be very helpful for showing demonstration and rehabilitator training videos.

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Ask Jeeves

Q: What materials does a hummingbird use to build its nest?
A: “Spiderwebs and dandelion down, mostly. A nesting hummingbird attaches dandelion thistles to the top of a tree branch under overhanging leaves, using fine pieces of spiderweb and sometimes pine tar as an adhesive, and stamping it down with its tiny feet. After the base is done, the hummingbird starts building the sides using soft down from plants. To weave these materials together, the birds takes spider silk in its beak and literally sews in and out, as we do with thread and cloth. Afterward, she decorates the outside of the nest with lichen for softness and camouflage. The hummingbird’s nest measures between one and a half and two inches in diameter and one and a half inches in height.”
   ….from, Just Curious About Animals & Nature, Jeeves

Salmonellosis in Pine Siskins

An outbreak of Salmonellosis has occurred in Pine Siskins in Northern California. Oregon Pine Siskin populations have suffered from this fatal disease in the past, so we ask you to be on the lookout for sick birds near your feeders. Pine Siskins are small, brown- streaked birds with yellow patches on the wings and tail. Sick siskins are thin, fluffed up, lethargic, and easy to approach. Their eyelids may be swollen. Salmonellosis is spread when sick birds defecate on seed in and around the feeder or at the bird bath. If you suspect an outbreak in your neighborhood, take down your feeders immediately, decontaminate them with a 10 percent solution of household bleach in water, rinse well, and put away for three to six months. If you continue to fill your bird bath, clean it daily, using the same method. The bleach solution must be thoroughly rinsed out. By taking the feeders down, you force birds to scatter farther afield to forage for food, thus increasing the distance between sick and healthy birds. Spring is a mild season here, so taking down your avian snack bar will not cause starvation. If you find a dead bird, wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage. As always, when handling sick animals or dirty feeders, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands well afterward with antibacterial soap. Salmonellosis is contagious to humans and is associated with diarrhea and gastrointestinal upset. Salmonellosis is NOT related to West Nile Virus. Unlike wooden feeders, metal and plastic feeders do not harbor bacteria, so you may want to think about replacing your wooden feeders eventually.

For more information, call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife at 503-378-6925.

Did you know? It’s a myth that birds abandon their chicks if a person touches them. Unlike other animals, birds are not sensitive to human scent.

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Keep This Imformation Handy!

If you find an animal needing assistance, please contact the WILDLIFE HELPLINE, 503-856-8242. HELPLINE volunteers will triage your call and refer you to the appropriate rehabilitator if the situation requires in-care treatment. Many situations can be resolved through triage. By law, SWRA can only treat and release native wildlife. However, we will help you find humane solutions for non-native animals in distress.

Wildlife Rehab News

“All the arguments to prove man’s superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering, the animals are our equals.” ––Peter Singer

Bird and Mammal Rehabilitator Susie Hardin received this Northern Flicker two months ago. The bird was a hit and run victim. The man driving behind the SUV that hit the bird stopped, rescued it, and drove it all the way back to Susie’s East Salem home. On examination, the bird was found to be bruised and swollen. He spent a month in care indoors and another month in the outdoor aviary, (see photo insert). Susie is happy to report that he was recently released. She has seen him in the neighborhood in the company of two other flickers, and in Susie’s words, “flying just fine and doing great.”

Raptor Rehabilitator Karen Costa currently has six Red-tailed Hawks in care, all with various injuries! This bird came in with a dislocated radius on January 17. He is being released next week.

This Saw-whet Owl was rescued on February 17. Karen says, “The owl was found lying on a road near Lincoln City. Several cars passed before a nice young man stopped to check on the bird and saw that it was still alive. He drove all the way back to Salem to find help for the bird. The owl had a concussion and is blind in the right eye. It was four days before he would open his eyes and a week before he was able to feed himself. He is now in a flight cage learning to adjust to flight with his impaired vision and will soon be live prey tested. With time and practice, he should be releasable.”

SWRA truly values all those anonymous Good Samaritans who stop to help animals injured by other–uncaring–people.

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“Why is compassion not part of the established curriculum, an inherent part of our education? Compassion, awe, wonder, curiosity, humility – these are the foundation of any real civilization.”
   ……–Yehudi Menhuin